they are part of our family, they're part of our pentagon family. and i thank them from the bottom of their heart -- of my heart for their sacrifice and for their dedication. over the last 19 months i've had the privilege of working with many of you and meeting many of you. i've had the great honor of being able to go out and greature troops on the battle front -- greet the troops in the battle front and meet the commanders. i've come away from those experiences with the deep respect and admiration for all of the dedication and sacrifices that our country is willing to make in order to keep us all safe. every day i see the people in this department working and fighting together as one family , united behind our mission of protecting our country. i know this can be a difficult place to work. this is one big bureaucracy. it's a big building. there are a lot of obstacles. there's a lot of red tape. in building -- in a building that's this large, just finding your desk can be a challenge. i'll never forget a few month after i came into the job, i was he